Martial Arts News

Neiman Gracie vs. Michael Lombardo in the works as the latest addition to the upcoming #Bellator290 card taking place at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Feb. 4.

The main card will air on CBS.

— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) December 22, 2022

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The upcoming Bellator 290 card gained an intriguing welterweight matchup as Neiman Gracie will take on Michael Lombardo. A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the bout to Sherdog following an initial report from MMAFighting.com.

Former Bellator MMA welterweight title contender Gracie (11-4, 9-4 Bellator) is looking to rebound following back-to-back defeats at the hands of Logan Storley and Goiti Yamauchi. Gracie’s latest victory dates back to September 2021, when he crushed Mark Lemminger with punches and elbows.

Professional Fighters League and Dana White’s Contender Series alum Lombardo (13-3, 1 NC; 1-1 Bellator) is coming off a first-round knockout over Mark …

🚨 BANGER ALERT 🚨@ChitoVeraUFC and @CorySandhagen will be taking center stage Saturday, Feb. 18th! pic.twitter.com/aFiJ56FUrq

— UFC (@ufc) December 23, 2022

An exciting bantamweight clash is going down at the UFC Apex early next year.

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On Friday, the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced Marlon Vera would take on Cory Sandhagen in the upcoming UFC Fight Night 219 event that will go down on Feb. 18.

Vera (20-7-1, 14-6 UFC) is currently riding a four-bout winning streak that features four bonuses, including Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night. In his latest outing, “Chito” knocked out former divisional kingpin Dominick Cruz with a head kick that halted the contest in Round 4. Prior, the Team Oyama representative scored victories over Rob Font, former UFC titleholder Frankie Edgar and Davey Grant.

Former interim title contender Sandhagen (15-4, 8-3 UFC) is coming off a technical-knockout victory ove…

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A new video surfaced showing what went down during the arrest of former Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title contender Jorge Masvidal in March.

The “Real World Police” YouTube channel uploaded video of the night Masvidal (35-16, 12-9 UFC) spent at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Miami police arrested and interrogated “Gamebred” a day after his alleged altercation with former teammate-turned-bitter-rival Colby Covington on March 22. Allegedly, Masvidal assaulted the former UFC interim champion outside of the Papi Steak Restaurant in Miami, provoking a fractured tooth and an abrasion on Covington’s wrist. Masvidal and Covington collided in the UFC 272 headliner on March 6, resulting in a unanimous decision victory for “Chaos.”

Masvidal was charged with aggravated battery and criminal mischief; he pleaded not guilty and will stand trial in 2023. His felonies are punishable by up to 15 years in prison as well as a $10,000…

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A new video surfaced showing what went down during the arrest of former Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title contender Jorge Masvidal in March.

The “Real World Police” YouTube channel uploaded video of the night Masvidal (35-16, 12-9 UFC) spent at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Miami police arrested and interrogated “Gamebred” a day after his alleged altercation with former teammate-turned-bitter-rival Colby Covington on March 22. Allegedly, Masvidal assaulted the former UFC interim champion outside of the Papi Steak Restaurant in Miami, provoking a fractured tooth and an abrasion on Covington’s wrist. Masvidal and Covington collided in the UFC 272 headliner on March 6, resulting in a unanimous decision victory for “Chaos.”

Masvidal was charged with aggravated battery and criminal mischief; he pleaded not guilty and will stand trial in 2023. His felonies are punishable by up to 15 years in prison as well as a $10,000…

Being released after a freak accident on their property the week before Christmas. Man “it’s business not personal” has never been more real 🤦🏾‍♂️ https://t.co/386BPSsgVj

— Deron Winn (@DeronWinn) December 22, 2022

Deron Winn is no longer an Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter.

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On Thursday, it was revealed the UFC cut the contract of Winn (7-3, 2-3 UFC) a week after his freak accident at the UFC Performance Institute. Winn was at the venue to prepare for his then-scheduled fight with Julian Marquez on the UFC Fight Night 216 prelims when he claims he fell down stairs and suffered neck trauma and concussion. Following the fighter’s medical review at the hospital, the fight was called off.

Winn, unhappy with his release, took to his social media accounts to comment on the situation and the timing of his release.

“Being released after a freak accident on their property the week before Christmas. Man ‘it’s busin…

.@UFC PPVs on @ESPNPlus will increase in price from $74.99 this year to $79.99 next year, starting with #UFC283 in January, per @Disney.

🔲 Disney says the move reflects "the value of ESPN+ and the popularity and quality of UFC events," and that it doesnt impact ESPN+ sub price. pic.twitter.com/PBf0cMTIUE

— Adam Stern (@A_S12) December 22, 2022

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In what has become something of an annual tradition, the cost of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s premium events will increase heading into beginning of the new year.

According to a report from the Sports Business Journal, UFC pay-per-views will increase in price from $74.99 to $74.99 beginning with UFC 283 on Jan. 21. The decision “reflects the value of ESPN+ and the popularity and quality of UFC events,” per a statement from Disney. The update is not expected to affect the cost of the ESPN+ subscription, which is currently $9.99 per month following a 43 percent increase i…

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There are multiple moving parts behind a successful co-promoted event involving two large MMA promotions.

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Perhaps the most important aspect of such a venture is a solid relationship between the people at the top of said promotions. Such is the case for the upcoming Rizin 40 card, which features five bouts pitting athletes from the Japanese organization against five fighters from Bellator MMA on the main draw. It wouldn’t have happened without the bond that Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara forged with Bellator president Scott Coker many years ago.

“We’ve both been in the business for a long time and seen the ups and downs. The healthy competition we have is why. We’re doing this because of Scott Coker, and more because of Scott than because of Bellator. That’s one reason,” Sakakibara said during a recent media call.

The feeling was mutual, according to Coker.

“This is a relationship that started in 2004, 2005. It’s been many yea…

Johnny Bedford is calling it a career at 39 years old.

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The former UFC competitor and BKFC bantamweight champion announced his decision on the BKFC Weekly Show, citing a lack of motivation to continue the type of training necessary to compete at a high level. He also says he’s made enough fighting with BKFC to be financially stable.

“I don’t have to fight just buy diapers and pay rent and do whatever it took,” Bedford said (transcription via MMAjunkie.com). “I used to fight, sh—t, twice a month just to pay bills. Because of bareknuckle and because of smart decisions I’ve made with my money from bareknuckle, I’m finally in a position where, wow. I don’t have to do this anymore. It was probably the hardest decision I’ve made.”

Bedford hasn’t competed in MMA since September 2017, when he lost a five-round majority decision to Jesse Arnett at Z Promotions “Fight Night 5: Medicine Hat.” He was a cast member on Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter” b…

MMA judge Douglas Crosby has come under fire recently due to a pair of scorecards he submitted at Bellator 289 and UFC 282 on back-to-back nights.

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In the bantamweight grand prix semifinal between Danny Sabatello and Raufeon Stots, Crosby submitted a 50-45 tally in favor of Sabatello, which was the lone dissenting scorecard in Stots’ split-decision victory. One night later, Crosby was one of three judges who rewarded Paddy Pimblett with a 29-28 verdict in the Englishman’s controversial unanimous decision win against Jared Gordon in the UFC 282 co-main event.

Crosby recently appeared on Chael Sonnen’s ”You're Welcome” podcast, and while he didn’t address specific scorecards, he offer some explanation at what he values when scoring a fight.

“Over the last 15 years, when you talk to the fighters, the overarching comment – and I’m not going to call it a complaint, I’ll call it a comment or a concern, is that effective grappling is not given enoug…

The Women's 145 Division makes its @fuboTV Challenger Series debut in Week ✌️. All matchups are set 🔐

[ #PFLonFuboTV | Women's Featherweights | Fri, Feb 3rd | 9pm ET] pic.twitter.com/TYqaQgh3jV

— PFL (@PFLMMA) December 21, 2022

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The Professional Fighters League is going forward with introducing a women’s featherweight division in 2023, and that will begin with a full lineup of 145-pound talent on the Challenger Series.

The organization on Wednesday announced the four featherweight bouts set for the PFL Challenger Series, which airs Feb. 3 on Fubo TV at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The 145-pound edition of the Challenger Series will be headlined by a clash between IBJJF world champion Amanda Leve and Olympic judoka Naranjargal Tsendayush, the first Mongolian fighter to compete under the PFL banner.

The other three featherweight matchups for the Challenger Series are as follows: two-time PFL competitor Jeslen Mishelle vs. A…

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Both Scott Coker and Nobuyuki Sakakibara are in agreement: The Bellator vs. Rizin card slated for New Year’s Eve is not a one-off event.

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While the organizations have shared fighters before, the upcoming event will mark the first time that a promotion vs. promotion format has been utilized, with five Bellator athletes squaring off against five Rizin athletes on the evening’s main card at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The first version will take place in the Rizin ring under the Japanese organization’s rule set, but the next iteration is expected to take place in a cage under Bellator rules.

“Sakakibara and I talked about a two-fight event,” Coker said during a media call. “The next one has to be in a cage and under the Bellator rules. Things can be different when the rules are different and the apparatus is different.”

The location and venue for the second cross-promotional event hasn’t been decided, but Coker has at l…

After his loss to Islam Makhachev in a lightweight title bout at UFC 280 this past October, Charles Oliveira turned down an opportunity to fight in Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 21.

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During his time off since that defeat, “Do Bronx” has also avoided doing media. However, Oliveira recently broke his silence in an interview with Brazilian podcast Super Lutas, where he discussed the loss to Makhachev. The former lightweight champion, who doesn’t yet have a date for his UFC return, revealed that he hasn’t yet watched the bout but wouldn’t change anything if he faced the Dagestani again.

“Islam was better. I have no excuses but I wouldn't do anything different from what I did,” he said. “I saw some people talking s—t, saying I was walking with lions in the week of the fight. They know nothing. I know how much I trained for this fight.”

Makhachev is scheduled to make his first 155-pound title defense against reigning featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovs…